Posting Before a Con Without Sounding Like an Ad

There's a specific kind of post that makes people scroll right past it. You know the one. "EXCITED to announce I'll be at [con name] table A12!!" with a flyer graphic and zero personality. It's not wrong to post it, but it's not doing much either, because it reads as an ad and everyone's trained themselves to skip ads.

The goal isn't to hide that you're selling something. People know you sell things, that's the whole relationship. The goal is to give them a reason to care before you ask them to show up.

Lead with the thing, not the announcement

Instead of "come see me at the con," show the print you're most proud of this cycle and explain why you made it, or the problem you solved getting it printed in time. The con details can be the second sentence, not the headline. People engage with the work and the story behind it. The table number is just logistics you tack on at the end.

If you're debuting something new, a work-in-progress post two weeks out does more than a finished reveal the day before. It gives people time to get curious and actually plan to swing by, instead of seeing a finished product post they can just buy later online.

Things that read as a person, not a flyer

• A photo of your table getting packed up the night before, chaos included
• A short clip of a print coming off the printer or a sticker getting weeded
• An honest "this one nearly didn't make it, here's what went wrong" story
• Asking followers what they want to see you bring, and actually bringing it

Say the where and when once, clearly, then stop repeating it like an ad

You do need to say the con name, date, and table number somewhere, ideally pinned or in a highlight, so people can find it without scrolling your whole feed. But you don't need to repeat it in every single post that week. Say it clearly once or twice, then let the rest of your posts just be about the art. The repetition is what makes it feel like an ad campaign instead of a person getting ready for an event.

A simple week-out plan

Stories work better than feed posts for the logistics stuff. Save the polished grid post for the art itself, and let stories carry the "here's where to find me" details since they disappear anyway and don't clutter your page for people finding you months later.

It's okay if it still feels a little like promotion

You're not going to fully disguise the fact that you want people at your table. That's fine. The difference between a post that lands and one that gets skipped isn't whether it's promotional, it's whether there's something real in it first. A slightly imperfect, honest post about your process will always outperform a polished flyer, because people follow artists for the person, not the ad copy.

Curious what a Shapeshift kit actually looks like in person? Head to the Artist Booths homepage to see the full lineup and find the one that fits your table.